In less than a week, President Donald Trump’s tariffs have caused economic chaos in the United States and abroad.
On Wednesday, he announced tariffs of at least 10% on almost all imports, with dozens of countries facing much higher interest rates.
S&P 500 Index Plunges almost 10% As of Monday, hit Nearly two-thirds of Americans Who holds stocks particularly hard.
Some countries including China Retaliation measures issued. Other U.S. trading partners, Including Japanis seeking negotiations with the Trump administration.
But if the tariffs remain the same, U.S. consumers are expected to pay more for everything from cars to sneakers to groceries soon.
From Automobile manufacturing arrive drug Always seeking a response. Producer of Chrysler Pacifica Minivan and Dodge’s electric charger Daytona It has been temporarily closed It is one of its factories in Canada, just across the border of Detroit. The same goes for Whirlpool Announced layoffs Iowa had 650 American workers on Thursday, citing the U.S. economic situation.
Among the economic uncertainty caused by tariffs, it is obvious that the global trade war may have just begun. These are some of your key questions about tariffs.
What happened to the last time the United States imposed tariffs on this scale?
The last time the United States imposed tariffs with Trump was during the Great Depression.
Smoot-Hawley tariffs were adopted in 1930 Oppose the advice of many economists. They lifted it Average tariff 20%. The aim was to protect American farmers and businesses that increased production during World War I until thereafter when European manufacturing gradually increased, prices collapsed.
However, tariffs eventually triggered retaliatory tariffs from European trading partners, resulting in a significant reduction in international trade. In the United States and Europe alone, trade fell by about two-thirds between 1929 and 1932, deepening depression.
The tariffs were eventually abolished in 1934. But they have a greater impact on geopolitics: Some historians speculate that global economic impact will help Contributing to the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany.
What goals does Trump actually hope to achieve?
Trump celebrated the day of tariffs on Wednesday as a “liberation day.” That’s because he sees tariffs as the “Declaration of Economic Independence” and as a means to restore American manufacturing Say at the Rose Garden Event Wednesday.
“Our country and its taxpayers have been deprived of for more than 50 years, but that won’t happen again,” he said. explain. “We finally put America first.”
His hope is that when importing foreign goods is more expensive, companies will seek investments to bring their production to the United States, thus allowing American consumers to lower prices in the long term. He also claimed that tariffs would prevent other countriesCheatingU.S. trade imbalance.
Economists believe tariffs won’t achieve these goals. economist Tax tariffs Based on a “completely confusing” understanding of the economy and history, “the deepest, harmful and unnecessary economic errors of modernity”.
One, one Formulas for determining the “countdown” tariff It involves allocating a country’s trade surplus to the total exports of the United States. Then divide this number into half to reach the tariff rate.
That’s not More tailored approach The government has surfaced before, which will take into account a range of complex factors. It also ignores the fact that many countries have trade surplus with the United States They are relatively poor And unable to buy goods made in the United States.
Do Americans support this move?
Trump’s recognition level is Fall to the lowest point Ever since he served in the tariff craze. And Trump’s Immigration policies remain relatively popularIn his overall accreditation hierarchy, this is not the case with his economic policy.
Polls conducted last month show 37 and 45% Americans agree with Trump’s performance in the economy. Most Americans are March 27 CBS News/YouGov Poll Trump is too focused on tariffs to lower prices. one A separate YouGov poll Shortly after Trump’s tariffs were announced, most Americans disapproved of tariffs, which was 40%.
Which products are most affected?
Perhaps the more appropriate question is what product Accustomed to Affected, given that many U.S. manufacturers rely on imported goods and are expected to increase costs to U.S. consumers.
Trump has Announced 25% tariff On all foreign assembled cars and plan Introduce other tariffs On some auto parts, including the engine and gearbox.
Given the attention paid to the tariffs of the country, China, Taiwan and South Korea, the prices of consumer electronics will also rise significantly, which is the main producer of TVs, mobile phones, etc.
As China, Vietnam and Bangladesh (all major exporters) now face steep tariffs, clothing and shoes may also become more expensive.
What does this mean for the U.S. and the global economy?
White House warns Trump’s tariffs Cause short-term pain – This is the development of the United States, and in the long run, there is no guarantee that there will be some reward.
Dollars have Value drops For other benchmark currencies. Economist Project Tariffs will cause the disposable income of ordinary households in the United States to fall by $3,789, while U.S. economic growth fell by 0.87% in 2025. JP Morgan proposes a chance of recession From 30% to 60% since the beginning of the year, this is a concern about the impact of tariffs.
The global economy is also rolling up. Inventory index declines In recent days, it has been around the world. Few countries suffer as many countries as Cambodia and Vietnam, many American companies from Nike to Apple have Mobile manufacturing. It is worth noting that Trump did not strike Mexico or Canada Additional tariffs announced earlier this year exceeded those for additional tariffs.
Why are Russia and North Korea exempted?
Russia and North Korea are also not listed on the list of countries facing additional tariffs, which is exactly why there are some mystery.
this The White House reportedly argued They “already face extremely high tariffs, and the sanctions we have imposed previously exclude any meaningful trade with these countries.”
However, other countries facing a lot of sanctions, Including Venezuelahit by additional tariffs.
Similarly, the U.S. deal with Russia is some of the remote islands compared to other countries that have not been spared. U.S. imposes economic sanctions on Russia after Russia’s 2021 invasion of Ukraine, which has led to a decline in trade between the two countries from about the same time Last year, $35 billion to $3.5 billion. Currently, Russia is negotiating to lift these sanctions as part of an agreement to end the Ukrainian war.
Updated, April 8, 6:30 AM: This story was originally released on April 4 and provides additional information about Trump’s tariffs.
